Amanda Unvarnished

@serge @csgraves Honestly I blame the do-gooder admin types who came up with the term in the 90's way more than someone who uses the term now because it's been used so much over the last 30 years. Problem with referring to IEPs/504 is that then you have to explain what those things are and watch people's eyes glaze over. I think we need to figure out how to normalize students with disabilities but I also realize that all of us have much more important things on our plates so people with disabilities will have to wait some more.

@dukepaaron @csgraves Also, I hate the term "special needs" and honestly think it should probably be banned at this point, even though I know it won't be because God forbit students with disabilities not be conglomerated into a monolythic blob to make administrators and politicians feel like they can handle things.

@dukepaaron @csgraves None of what I said above is always the case all the time, just some generalizations that can occur.

@dukepaaron @csgraves Just to add to this thread as one of those so-called "special needs" kids, sometimes the religious school can provide better resource availability for things like materials in alternative formats, (braille/large print), because resource teachers/facilitators for religious schools end up serving maybe one or two schools while the same resource teachers/facilitators for public schools can end up serving multpile counties, and everyone who gets shoved under the special needs umbrella, which can mean everyone in the public situation ends up getting underserved somehow. This matters especially in rural areas, where the religious school can provide what ends up being a better and more accessible education experience. (1)